We are only one lousy law away from losing our freedoms as we know them! God’s people must stand and make their voices heard regarding government and the Gospel. West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Values was created to help every citizen of the Mountain State do this very thing.

My name is Bo Burgess, and I pastor Jordan Baptist Church in Gallipolis Ferry, Mason County, WV. I am also the director of West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Values (WVBBV). Our vision is to connect the people of God with the people of government. The three main goals of this effort are to educate, engage, and encourage every West Virginian to stand up for freedom and Biblical values. Before I explain more, let me briefly describe how God brought me here.

The History

I was born and raised in Spencer, WV. My parents are Randy and Sherrie Burgess. I have one younger brother, Corey. Our family was a typical low to middle-class family. My mother cared for us boys until we were old enough to attend school. She also took us to church all the time. My father is one of the hardest- working people I know. He usually worked at least two jobs to provide for the family. They both still work very hard to help me and my brother the best they can. We rarely talked about politics. The 2008 presidential election was the first time I had ever voted. I was in my mid-20s. During this time, I got assurance of my salvation, was called into ministry, and met my wife. Politics and government were the farthest thing from my mind. I had no idea who my representatives were, nor did I care. I knew what I believed but felt my vote or voice did not mean anything. Boy, was I wrong?

The Great Awakening

Fast forward about fifteen years now, and I know all my representatives personally and talk to them regularly. I travel to the Charleston Capitol about ten times a year or more and usually to Washington, DC, at least once a year. I have met, prayed, and shared the Gospel with our US congressmen and congresswomen. Legislators, pastors, and citizens from all over the state now contact me to discuss political issues. How did all of this happen? I call it the great awakening. No, not the great awakening from the 1700s or 1800s, but the lesser-known awakening of 2017-2019. Well, maybe it wasn't an awakening for anyone else, but God began slowly opening my eyes through specific circumstances in our state and nation.

The first thing God used to open my eyes was the 2017 Capitol Connection event in Charleston, WV. My good friend, Pastor Jonathan Pinson, invited me to this event. Pastors from around the state come to pray and encourage their legislators. During our time at the Capitol, we had the opportunity to meet and visit with many different Delegates and Senators. We gave out gospel tracts and prayed with many of our state representatives. It was a great day, but the real eye-opener came when we sat in the galleries for one of the Senate floor sessions. I remember not having a clue as to what they were saying or doing. The one thing I remember that almost took my breath away was when they passed a law to sell alcohol on Sundays. It wasn't even close. Five people or less voted against that bill. All the pastors, including myself, just sat there stunned. We could not believe what had just happened. The sad part was that no one even knew that this bill was up for consideration. I remember thinking, “There has to be a way to get this information out so people can make informed decisions". At a Capitol Connection event in 2019 in Washington DC, the Lord impressed upon me to start West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Values. I will share more about that later.

The second event that shook me to my core was the 2019 New York State abortion law. I remember watching the news one evening. They kept replaying the New York State legislature and their celebration of this Law. The Empire State Building was lit in pink to support the new Law. I could not believe it. It was here that I began to think that elections matter. The Barna polling group had a poll from 2016 that said there are 90 million Christians across America. Only about half of those 90 million Christians were registered to vote. To make matters worse, only about forty percent of registered Christian voters vote. Imagine what would happen if 90 million Christians voted for Jesus and Biblical values!

It was like a light bulb went off! I called several pastor friends the next day to get their reactions to the abortion law. They were also angry and upset. I told them, "We have got to do something. I don't know what". This began my journey to take a stand for Biblical values. A few days later, I learned that our county had a local Right to Life chapter. It was interesting that I had lived in our county for about six years, and this was the first time I had heard of a Right to Life chapter. I went to the next meeting, which consisted of ten people or less. It was here I learned that ten years ago, West Virginia had almost the same type of Abortion laws as New York State. I couldn't believe it! I also knew that West Virginia used to have about five abortion clinics across the state, and now there was only one. What made the difference? West Virginians for Life, the state chapter of the National Right to Life organization. Over the last ten- or fifteen years, West Virginians for Life has influenced Pro-Life legislation and was responsible for saving many lives. I immediately joined our local chapter and attended rallies at the Capitol. My eyes were opening wider and wider. Now, I am the president of Mason County Right to Life.

The third circumstance that propelled me into the political scene occurred at our state Capitol in Charleston.

One of my pastor friends contacted me and informed me that the Republican Senate President was meeting with an LGBTQ lobbying group to consider passing legislation called the "Fairness Act" Yea, the title of the bill is very misleading. The senate president at the time was our district state senator. By the way, this is the same senator that killed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act from passing in our state. This becomes way more interesting later in the story.

Five pastors from the district, including myself, went to Charleston and firmly but respectfully confronted the Senate President about his intentions. This would be one of several meetings with the Senate President. One meeting turned into a public hearing. We were inexperienced and got land blasted. Media and lobbying groups were invited to the meeting without our knowledge. Lesson learned! We met one last time with the Senate President. This time, it was a private meeting with about seven or eight pastors from his district. We made several arguments as to why the Fairness Act was terrible legislation. Finally, we opened the Bible and explained how righteousness exalts a nation, and this bill goes against God and his word. Long story short, the Fairness Act never got out of committee, and the Senate President lost his reelection in a colossal upset.

Here is the bottom line:

As Christians, we are told to love everyone, even our enemies and people who don't believe the same way that we believe. We are also told to share God's Word with them and let God convicnce their heart. 

The surveys show that most people don't know what is in proposed legislation and sometimes the names of the legislation are misleading. Whatever we believe, we need to read each Bill that affects our lives and let our representatives know how we feel. 

To God be the Glory!

My eyes are now wide open! I could not believe what just happened! It was amazing to see what several country pastors, the power of God, and his word could do if only we would stand up for Biblical values. This was it! I'm sold! I'm ready for battle! I want in the fight! Now, what do I do?

Birth of Biblical Values

Before he fought Goliath, David, the shepherd boy, asked, "Is there not a cause?" The cause was now more clear to me than ever before. I was ready to engage, but I wasn't sure what to do or how. God revealed the battle plan at the 2019 Capitol Connection event in Washington, DC. One of the men at the Capitol Connection was Pastor Brad Cranston from Iowa. Pastor Cranston had started eight Biblical values state capitol initiatives nationwide. These state capitols involved pastors meeting and praying with their legislators, sharing the Gospel, educating citizens on good and bad bills, influencing Godly legislation and fighting against evil legislation, voter registration drives, and encouraging Christian men and women to run for office at all levels.

I remember sitting in the church pew and listening to the presentation. It was like God said, “That’s it.” I met with Pastor Cranston and shared my burden with him. In January 2020, we officially launched West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Values as a ministry out of our local church. Since our start, we have seen God do amazing things. For starters, several Pastors from around the state were elected to state office. In the first year, we mainly fought lousy legislation. Now, we are primarily influencing Godly legislation. I have been able to build great relationships with many of the legislators. The legislative session has started with an hour-long prayer service in the last two years. This past year, we held our first-ever Religious Liberty Rally. We are developing a network of churches and pastors from all over the state. This is crucial for getting information to the people.

When we started in 2020, only one other group was fighting for faith, family, and freedom. God has now brought together ten like-minded groups, all fighting to promote Biblical Values. Again, it is incredible to see what God is doing!

Victory!

The 2023 legislative session provided one of our greatest victories yet! For over ten years, West Virginia has been trying to pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RFRA for short. This bill helps to ensure our First Amendment rights. There are about thirty states that have this legislation. West Virginia was one of the states that needed this important protection. First Liberty Institute studied all fifty states and ranked them according to who had the most religious freedom protections. Sadly, West Virginia ranked 49th. (https://religiouslibertyinthestates.com/)

We started early in the fall of 2021, meeting with leadership in the House and Senate. We learned early on that you cannot wait until the start of the session to try and get a bill passed. Much progress was made in 2021 and the beginning of the session in 2022. By the way, West Virginia has one of the shortest Legislative sessions in the country, only lasting 60 days. This is another reason you must have all your ducks in a row before the session starts. The RFRA bill in 2022 passed the House of Delegates with no problem but unfortunately did not get enough steam behind it to even come out of committee in the Senate. We were disappointed but not discouraged. The fight in Charleston over Biblical Values was starting to change. We spent less time fighting against bad bills and more time on good ones. Praise the Lord!

Again, we started meeting with leadership in the fall of 2022 and making our case for the Religious Freedom Bill. God turned a five to ten-minute meeting into a forty-five-minute meeting with Senate leadership. The Senate president invited us to return and give our presentation to the entire Senate caucus. We could see God at work early on as we prepared for the 2023 session. This was the year God began to bring together other faith groups to help us. One key group was the 1 st Amendment Partnership. This organization works all around the country fighting for Religious Freedom issues. Attorney Lance Kinzer from the 1st Amendment partnership in Kansas played a significant role in what God was getting ready to do. Kinzer made several trips to West Virginia over the last two years to help convince leadership of the importance of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Freedom Restoration Act

So, 2023 started with a bang. For the second year, the session started with an hour-long prayer meeting conducted by legislators and pastors from all over the state. Next, we hosted a Religious Freedom Rally in the lower Rotunda of the Capitol. The rally began with the singing of the National Anthem and some congregational hymns. There were legislators, pastors, church members, and many students from local Christian schools who attended the rally. Several legislators and pastors spoke on the importance of Religious Freedom. Pastor Friend and delegate Jonathan Pinson introduced the Religious Freedom Bill in the House of Delegates by this time. The bill passed quickly in the house, with every Republican voting yes and every Democrat voting no. Again, just like last year, the bill goes to the Senate, and it must get voted out of committee and to the floor for debate and a final. It is a long process to see a bill become law. You should click here and see how it all happens. Just like the previous year, we ran out of time because the session was only sixty days. Thank God for our Senate sponsor of the Religious Freedom bill, Senator Amy Grady. Remember when I mentioned earlier that the previous Senate president was friendly to the LGBTQ movement and killed the RFRA bill? Do you recall that he lost his reelection bid? Well, the person who defeated him was none other than Amy Grady. Ironic, huh? Amy was another critical piece of the puzzle that God was putting together. She is a fighter for Christian and conservative values. Because time was running out, the House and the Senate were now having two sessions a day to try and get all the business done for the state. Even though we had made significant progress again this year, it looked like we would be short again.

A couple of weeks before the session ended, I got a phone call from one of the senators. They told me to watch the evening session because I would be interested in what would happen. I could not believe what was about to happen. As they began the session, they came to our RFRA bill, which they had received from the house side. Typically, what has to happen from here is that the bill gets introduced and read three times on three separate days, allowing for debates and amendments. There needed to have been more time for this to happen to get it passed in the Senate and on to the governor for his signature. Well, this was not a typical day in the legislature. I will never forget what happened next. As they introduce our bill, they call for suspension of the rules and to bring it up for immediate consideration of passage. They allowed a short debate, and no amendments were added. They brought the bill up within fifteen or twenty minutes for a Senate floor vote.

Praise God the bill passed 31-3. Again, every Republican voted yes, and every Democrat voted no. It was a miracle! A few weeks later, Governor Jim Justice signed the Religious Freedom Bill into law. To God be the glory!

As I sit here writing this article, reflecting on all that has occurred over the last few years is impressive. But there is no time to rest or become complacent. There is still a cause, and it is greater than ever before. The enemy will be looking to strike back. We are already gearing up to fight for Biblical Values and freedoms during the 2024 session. We aim to spread the Gospel and Biblical Values message in Charleston and across the state, and you can help. Please pray for God's power and favor in our ministry. Register to vote and go Vote for Jesus and Biblical Values! Encourage ten other people to do the same. Stand up and make your voice heard! Run for office at the local, state, and federal levels. Give your time and finances to help other Godly candidates to help them win. Contact and encourage your representatives to vote for Biblical Values. Visit our website, get signed up to receive our free emails, and learn more about how to influence your government with the Gospel.

Edward Hale once said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do". What will you do for the Gospel's sake? God bless you all, and keep fighting the good fight of faith!